Dear PoP – Package Delivery

“Dear PoP,

Asking this as a new homeowner in a neighborhood where it’s not such a great idea to leave things out in front of your house while you’re not home…

When people order items through the mail, how do they receive the packages? I’m at a loss because I don’t want to have to continue to ship packages to friends who live in buildings with front desks (which is what I’ve done ever since I moved into my house). I suppose most people who live in the neighborhood just find a discrete place on their porches for delivery people to leave packages, but that doesn’t work for those of us who are unfortunate enough to have small porches without hidden areas. Is my only choice to pick the packages up at the UPS facility (a painful drive!)? I’m interested in seeing if anyone has come up with any tricks to get around this dilemma.”

A very important question, that we’ve discussed previously here and here.

While some people feel comfortable having packages delivered to their porch, I’d recommend two other options. First if you have a neighbor that is home have them sign for it and hold it for you. Second and more likely an option, and a bit of a pain in the ass if the package is big, is to have the package delivered to your place of work. Am I forgetting other options?